“Kian’s Bizarre B&B” (Netflix)
Catherine Choi: Kian84’s B&B is a little—no, it’s quite bizarre. Kian84 didn’t want to make things easy at his guesthouse, so he made it necessary to climb up just to get inside. Once you make it in, you’ll find the gym, an outdoor bathing area with “huge buckets,” the teatime zone for enforced face time, and plenty of other things you’ve definitely never seen before. Even the food situation lives up to the “Bizarre” name. Breakfast is out, covered instead by massive portions at dinner. And there’s no grocery shopping required—there’s instant curry on hand. When Kian84 suggests they all “eat with our hands today,” his manager, Jin, and other employee, Ye-eun, are thoroughly shocked. Despite being the mastermind and owner behind this bizarre place, Kian84 casually asks guests to “get two big bottles of cooking oil” (actually, “just one”). The guests feel the guesthouse is destined to fail at first, but they soon find themselves falling for its charms.

Keeping the bizarre chaos grounded are Jin, who pops up as soon as anyone needs anything, and the affable Ye-eun, who puts their guests at ease. In the series, Jin has gone from superstar to employee of the month, taking care of everything from groceries to guests, and channeling his inner uncle when he helps a kid into their life jacket. That extends to his signature dad jokes, too (When certain guests arrive: “I wouldn’t have ‘guessed’ they were them.’”) Ye-eun, though she repeatedly fails to climb up a pole and proudly flaunts her cute, clumsy side, goes on to earn her boating license and becomes the first face guests are greeted with as she ferries them along. They might feel a bit uneasy when they first see her struggling to steer her banana boat, but they soon come to embrace the thrill of it. Kian84, meanwhile, is something of a mystery—“like he’s from a different world,” according to Ye-eun, or, as Jin puts it, “There are dogs and cats. And we have Kian.” But the workers under Kian84’s watch have a shared goal: to make sure his quirky world keeps running smoothly. Initially so flustered by the house rules that all they can do is repeat the words “What is this?,” the staff eventually goes full force in their roles, carefully enforcing rules around the slide and sleeping outdoors. And before you know it, Jin, who once thought taking a three-minute shower “makes no sense,” is eating kongguksu with his hands, just like Kian84—and just like his boss, insists it “has to be seasoned with sugar … Sugar is the way to go!”

Everyone at the B&B has their story. “One minute, I hear all this cheering. The next minute, it’s gone,” the typically singularly focused Seokjin says, slipping into reverie by the waters of Ulleungdo Island. “On top of that, my ears keep ringing,” he continues. “I’ll be in bed, but … it lasts for 30 minutes to an hour.” Kian84 listens to what his guests have to say one by one, calling them affectionately by name, unable to hide his wistfulness when they have to leave. Whether you’re a university student out to catch bugs, a young carpenter, a job seeker, or a father with his children, it feels like Kian’s Bizarre B&B will always be there waiting for you when you return for some much needed rest.

“The Old Woman with the Knife”
Bae Dongmi (CINE21 Reporter): Hornclaw (Hyeyoung Lee), a woman in her 60s, sits quietly on the subway reading her Bible. No one pays the graying woman any mind, but what they don’t know is that Hornclaw is a killer—and a highly skilled, cold-blooded assassin at that. Tucked within the pages of her Bible is a photo of her next target. Not long after, we see her making her way through a throng of people, brandishing a sharp ornamental pin to carry out the task at hand. This scene in the subway speaks volumes. Hornclaw is a daring assassin capable of killing in broad daylight, right there in a crowded subway, yet she’s practically invisible to those around her. Thanks to her incredible power to keep from being detected, she’s spent years working for an enigmatic company “exterminating” bad people. Within the organization, she’s codenamed Godmother and revered by her fellow assassins. But time is catching up with her. Hornclaw begins showing signs of her age, with tremors appearing in her hands and face, while a brash newcomer, Bullfight (Kim Sung-cheol), begins to defy her.

An aging assassin with an elite organization—if it sounds like “John Wick” so far, just know that “The Old Woman with the Knife” is a far more complex, layered film, and that that depth is largely owing to the remarkable Hyeyoung Lee. She captures the tiny tremors characteristic of Parkinson’s all while conveying a growing intensity in her eyes, and the way she delivers her lines—waxing on the importance not of who kills you but why, and how we’re all destined to fall apart and disappear—in her famously captivating voice reminds viewers that this character is always one brush away from death. True to the genre, Lee’s character finds herself in a number of fight sequences and gun-laden action scenes, but in an era when CGI often crafts much of the magic, the way she carries herself and reveals her age actually makes such scenes more painful and grueling to watch. She might just be the only actor capable of fully bringing the cinematic vision behind the film to life. For a long time, Lee was mainly known for being the daughter of legendary Korean director Lee Man-hee, but her unparalleled genius can no longer be ignored.

Indigo (Spotify playlist)
Seo Seongdeok (Music Critic): Over the past few years, country music has become one of the main genres dominating the “Billboard” Hot 100, alongside pop and hip hop/rap. While all genres are popular and evolve within their own circles—and the ebb and flow of that popularity remains an integral part of music history—for much of the 2000s, the younger generation kept their distance from country. Some attribute this to a rejection of the cultural conservatism and perceived intolerance of the genre’s artists and audience. One piece of evidence lending credence to this argument is how apparent alternatives to country were developing at the same time, which could never have happened if the love-it-or-leave-it view of the typical characteristics of the genre—the vocals, lyrics, and more that make up that down-on-the-farm feel—were all there was to it. Legends like Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn are being revisited today for their now-scarce authenticity, for instance, while subgenres such as alt-country, Americana, roots, and bluegrass, all of which share in country’s essence but expand on it significantly, have steadily found a foothold.

Meanwhile, the observable popularity of mainstream country beginning around 2020 tells its own story. There’s been crossover hits like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” artists like Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile, Orville Peck, Yola, and Jimmie Allen rising in popularity thanks to new perspectives on gender, sexuality, and race—plus a greater appeal to younger listeners through the growth of streaming services and social media. Contemporary country artists like Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Combs push the sonic boundaries of folk and hip hop, while big names like Post Malone and Beyoncé, plus hitmakers like Shaboozey, are shaking up the very definition of country music.

Spotify’s Indigo playlist aims to lasso all these evolving dynamics into a single playlist. If you’re still not used to country, just remember that you don’t need to “get used to” it. The farm feel may be real, but taking the time to explore how diverse and intricate things can get within the landscape of the genre is well worth it. Playlists are there to guide you in your journey of discovery and exploration. Time to give Indigo a go.